Angela Barber
Professor and Chair
School of Health Professions
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
2133 CHS Building 2
abarber1@samford.edu
205-726-4461

Dr. Angela Barber was named Chair of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department in 2022. She previously served as Department Chair of the University of Alabama Department of Communicative Disorders. Barber’s teaching, clinical work, and research focus on autism and social communication in early childhood. Her primary research looks at improving accessibility to effective early identification and interventions for children with an increased likelihood for autism by building cooperative and sustainable solutions that promote health equity. As a licensed clinical Speech-Language Pathologist, she combines evidence-based practice into instructional settings and real-world applications to bridge the research to service gap experienced in rural and underserved areas. Barber also studies the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in CSD Programs as it relates to preparing students to work with minimally verbal individuals. She has received grants to support her and her students’ participation in community-based research.

Degrees

  • PhD, Florida State University
  • MS, Missouri State University
  • BS, Missouri State University

Expertise

  • Early interventions for minimally verbal children with autism and children with social communication differences
  • Improving equitable access to interventions for underserved groups
  • Increasing confidence among SLP graduate students for caregiver coaching

Courses Taught

  • Neurodiversity and autism
  • Counseling in SLP
  • Leadership in Health Professions

Publications and Presentations

Friedman, N., Barnard-Brak, L., Watkins, L., Barber, A., & White, S. (2023). De-Implementation of Low-Value Practices for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. 26, 690–705. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-023-00447-2.

Ingersoll, B., Douglass, S., Broadhead, M., Barber, A., & Kazmarek, L. (accepted). Interdisciplinary Competencies for Implementing NDBIs with Young Children with Autism and Other Social Communication Challenges. Journal of Early Intervention.

Fedewa, M., Watkins, L., Barber, A., & Baggett, J. (2023). Supporting Social Play of Preschoolers With and Without Autism: A Collaborative Approach for Special Educators and Speech Language Pathologists. Early Childhood Education Journal, 1-11.

Aranbarri, A., Stahmer, A., Talbott, M., Miller, M. E., Drahota, A. M., Pellecchia, M., Barber, A., ... & Rogers, S. J. (2021). Examining US Public Early Intervention for Toddlers with Autism: Characterizing Services and Readiness for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2349.

Phillips, A., Barber, A.B., Blakeney, A., Buster, J., Callori, S., Cole, B…..Greer, M. (2021). Autism Spectrum Disorders: Developing State Guidelines for Service. IDEA Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association Position Statement.

Barber, A.B., Yerby, L.G., Tomeny, T., Baker, L.K., Morales-Aleman, M. (2020). Exploring rural and urban caregiver descriptions of autism symptoms and etiology. International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education.

Barber, A., Cook, C., Swineford, L., Belew, A. (2020). Effects of Project ImPACT Parent Mediated Intervention on the Expressive Vocabulary of Young Children with ASD. Perspectives in Language and Learning, ASHA.